What is a software datafile used for? Document Number: 10056 Software datafiles contain the actual past performance data, as well as other information about every horse in each race. These are designed to be used by handicapping or PP generation software. Some BRISnet members have even written their own programs to process, store, manipulate, and/or present the data contained in these files. Do not confuse datafiles with PDF (Portable Document Format) that can just be viewed and printed, with no easy way of further using the data. All software datafiles except for the Plus V datafile are compressed in the zip format to save space and download time. Once you unzip it, the datafile is in standard text format (ASCII) and is a comma delimited database file. A quick, simple example looks like this: "Cigar",2,"9/5",34,"aqu",20,12,.. This corresponds to: "Horse Name Here",program number here, "morning-line odds here", ... As you an see a comma delimited datafile is not very useful without a program to make some sense of it. All software datafiles offered on our site, in addition to being the staple of many handicapping programs, can be used to produce professional quality Past Performance reports using PP Generator, similar to the PDF reports offered on BRISnet. The difference is that you are generating the PP, so you can choose some options to get different styles of reports. You can also use the same data to do other things such as analyze the race using handicapping software. For example the MultiCAPS datafile can be used in MultiCAPS to do automatic selection using the MutiCAPS system, and then you can go into PP Generator and generate a Premium PP to do your own conventional handicapping. After the races have run, there are results datafiles in the "Results and Charts" area. These are the "Exotic Results Datafile", "Import Results Datafile", and the "Import Charts Datafile". Check with your software documentation to see if one of these can be used to enhance your software. Neurax, Neurax Pro, MutiCAPS, and ALL-Ways use the Exotic Results Datafile (xrd). If you are interested in the technical details of the software datafiles for your own programming and databasing, click on the Software Datafile Structures link. Recommended Link:  Software Datafile Structures Survey Please assist us in improving how we help you! Was this document easy enough to understand? Yes, it was easy. Not too difficult. No, it was too difficult. Did this document help you? Yes. It helped a little. No, not at all. Help Home    Racing Reports & Data    Pedigree Services    Software    Are You New?    Your BRISnet Account    Specials & Contests    BRISnet Accessibility    Feedback    General Information Choose a Help Topic Above, or  Search For Help:    [ Sign-up ] [ Products & Prices ] [ Bookstore ] [ Track Info ] [ Library ] [ Tech Support ] [ F.A.Q. ] [ Member Services ] [ Contact Us ]